The importance of material properties for cratering and penetration in geologic materials

Accurate cratering and penetration predictions in many solids are difficult because the yield strength, particularly for wet or jointed rock, depends in complicated ways on strain rate and confining pressure. Computational and experimental results are presented that illustrate the evolution of crater morphology from bowl-shaped to saucer-shaped as the shear strength increases, and the evolution of penetration depth from shallow to deep as the block mobility increases.